When one thinks of heart surgery one ususally envisages a surgeon cutting a 15-inch gash from the patient's collarbone to his/her stomach,

then a circular saw cutting through the sternum and the chest being spread open to reveal the heart.Desperate measures for desperate conditions. Open-chest surgery is a violent operation and one that leaves a dramatic scar.

In response to the often traumatic effects such an operation can have on patients, Dr Aubrey Galloway (left), a doctor at New York University Hospital, in Manhattan is pioneering a new technique in heart surgery that seeks to be minimally invasive.

Using specially designed long-handled instruments the doctor is able to complete the delicate procedure through a slit in the patient's chest. It is especially useful when patients are young with small, fragile bodies.